SXSW in 60 Seconds: 'Attack the Block' Kills at Midnight

Because celebrities (film-related and otherwise) are people too and there's nothing - well, almost nothing -- that celebrities don't like more than being sighted at film (and other) festivals. Celebrities were out in full force on the opening night of the SXSW Film Festival.

OUR COVERAGE

If you haven't had a chance to check out our coverage of the first day of the SXSW Film Festival, just follow this link for fest-related goodness.

BIGGEST BUZZ

Joe Cornish's 'Attack the Block' absolutely killed at the midnight Alamo Drafthouse screening. Think 'Critters' meets 'The Warriors' -- Cornish described the wildly entertaining aliens-vs-teen-thugs horror-comedy as 'Super 8 Mile,' and the audience loved every minute of it. Apparently American distributors are afraid of the thick British neighborhood accents, but in our opinion the general kick-assery of the movie overpowers any sort of language barrier. See this one when you can.

Kohn also reviews 'Better This World,' a documentary centered on the "Texas Two," David McKay and Brandley Crowder, who brought Molotov cocktails to the 2008 Republican presidential convention, their friend, leader, and FBI informant Brandon Darby (instrumental in their prosecutions). Kohn thinks "'Better This World' should get a good response at left-leaning festivals and especially on the documentary circuit."

IndieWIRE blogger Anne Thompson has a round-up of her first day at the SXSW Film Festival. Of 'Source Code,' Duncan Jones' ('Moon') second directorial effort, Thompson says "'Source Code' proves that Jones is a strong, stylish director who can handle an accessible bigger budget ($35 million) ensemble movie."

TWEETS, BUZZ, & OTHER NEWS

Via Twitter, Tony Deifell "Overheard at #SXSWi "...I was tired of putting people in jail so I started playing video games semi professionally on the side..."'

More Twitter: Of SXSW doc 'Fightville,' Reel Distraction had this to say: "I did not expect a Louisiana-based MMA doc to include multiple CLOCKWORK ORANGE references."

Even more Twitter: Comic-book scribe and novelist Greg Rucka "...never have so many iPads been in one place at one time..."